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Looking For the Best Books of 2019 – a year-end review

Posted by Daniel on December 31, 2019
Posted in: OTHER, Uncategorized. Tagged: . Leave a comment

At the end of each year I take a look back on the books that I’ve read and try to determine the best books I’ve read in each category and the best book I read during the year.  This is a best of those I’ve read and reviewed in 2019, not necessarily the best books published in 2019. So let’s get right to it!

Looking back I was a little surprised (pleasantly) to see how many Mystery books were highly rated this past year.  In fact, there were three books that got a perfect 5.0 rating from me, and I don’t give out 5.0 scores very often.

In the running are: Reason to Doubt by Nancy Cole Silverman which I thought was absolutely fantastic. The always-reliable Caroline Fardig with Murder Over Mochas. And Final Reckoning by Robert Bailey.  Silverman’s books was really powerful, but I still recall the constant anxiety I had and the desire to keep turning pages to see what happened next with Bailey’s book.

BEST MYSTERY 2019 – FINAL RECKONING by Robert Bailey

 

I’ll move next to Historical Fiction because this is an easy call.  Only one book stood out, having received a perfect 5.0 rating from me.

BEST HISTORICAL FICTION 2019 – FINDING DOROTHY by Elizabeth Letts

 

Two categories that didn’t do as well as they have in the past are YA and Children’s books. I suspect that this has a lot to do with some of the authors who are missing from my reading list in 2019.  And in the case of YA, it is sometimes difficult to know if a book should be classified as YA or not.

In Children’s books, the best I had were two books with a 4.5 rating: A Circle of Elephants by Eric Dinerstein, and Briar and Rose and Jack by Katherine Colville.  This is a tough call.

BEST CHILDREN’S BOOK 2019 – BRIAR AND ROSE AND JACK by Katherine Colville

 

As in with Children’s books, YA only had two books that scored a 4.5 from me for 2019. Those were Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller and Nemesis by Anna Banks.  This one is really too close to call, so I’m selecting one because I’ll give the other one acknowledgement later.

BEST YA BOOK 2019 – MASK OF SHADOWS by Linsey Miller

 

I like reading Westerns, but those typically fall into a good-but-not-great category for me.  My choice here is not a ‘typical’ Western and actually better fits the Mystery category, but, well, my award, I can do whatever I want!

BEST WESTERN 2019 – THE BITTERROOTS by C. J. Box

 

Non-Fiction books have typically done pretty well on my blog here, and there were two that I gave a perfect 5.0 score, and plenty others that I can recall quite fondly.  My choice is a book that is a bit older, but because I enjoyed it so much I bought a physical copy to have on hand and that speaks pretty well for a book, I think.

BEST NON-FICTION 2019 – THE HIDDEN MACHINERY by Margot Livesey

 

I don’t read a lot of Romance books (I guess it’s a ‘guy’ thing?) but I’m always curious about the genre since it’s so popular with the general reading public.  I only read a few this year, some of them decent, but I’m giving this award to the book I didn’t use for the YA award.  The romance in Anna Bank’s YA book Nemesis was really well done.

BEST ROMANCE 2019 – NEMESIS by Anna Banks

 

I’ve cut back on my Graphic Novel reading this past year (I think), and of what I’ve read, I haven’t been overly impressed. The winner this year isn’t a traditional graphic novel but rather a collection of newspaper comic strips.

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL – HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIPS published by Dark Horse Books

 

And so we come down to the two categories that I might still consider my favorites … Fantasy and Science Fiction.  I enjoy a lot of different genres, but these are the types of books that first got me reading and continue to thrill me.  These two categories also have a fair amount of crossover and my selection for Sci-Fi could easily be considered Fantasy.

In Fantasy books, I was a little surprised to see that I hadn’t given any 5.0 scores and that some of my favorite authors didn’t score higher.  But for my selection (with a 4.75 rating) I’m going with an author I don’t usually think about, but when I read his books, I’m always completely enamored.

BEST FANTASY 2019 – GATES OF THE DEAD by James A. Moore

 

And for Science Fiction I have the difficult task of selecting a title from two very strong contenders.  Either of these could be considered Fantasy, but I tend to think of them as Science Fiction and so that’s where I’m categorizing them.  And since I can’t really make up my mind, I’m awarding a five-way tie!  But in a sense, it’s a two-way tie, since the books represent two different series.

BEST SCIENCE FICTION 2019 –

Books 1 & 2 in The Philosopher’s Series: THE PHILOSOPHER’S FLIGHT & THE PHILOSOPHER’S WAR by Tom Miller

and

Books 1, 2, & 3 in The Map of Unknown Things series: THE QUEEN OF ALL CROWS, THE OUTLAW AND THE UPSTART KING, & THE FUGITIVE AND THE VANISHING MAN by Rod Duncan

And so it comes down to The Best of the Best!  Most of the books listed above were a surprise to me.  Only two of the authors listed here have been on my ‘best of’ lists before and I love that part of the reading and reviewing – finding new voices that really entertain. For the Best of the Best I selected an author who so ‘wow’d’ me that I immediately went out and bought TWO copies of the book(s) to share.  I really wanted others to see how tremendous the books are.  And so far everyone has really enjoyed them as well.

THE BEST OF THE BEST 2019 – THE PHILOSOPHER’S FLIGHT and THE PHILOSOPHER’S WAR by Tom Miller

It was definitely a good year, and I look forward to 2020!

THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT PLAYS 2015-2016 – William W. Demastes, editor

Posted by Daniel on December 30, 2019
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, OTHER, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

There was a time when I bought every collection of short plays that was published. I love reading plays and I also was directing plays – for theatres and for high schools.  When my focus changed and I wasn’t directing much any more, I also backed off from reading play collections.  Which is too bad, because I do like reading plays! So when I had the opportunity to request this collection I really was eager to get in to it.

I’ve clearly fallen behind in my reading since this collection if about four years old.

Reading this collection, I wondered – what makes for a good short play? What I found here is that most of these short plays are about something.  They are messages, parables, reminders of behavior (how to … how not to …). And because of that, I often found them boring. I rolled my eyes … “Oh gosh … another play about what it’s like being gay … another play about what it’s like growing old … another play about …”

Too often I considered these plays to be catharsis workouts for the playwright.  I could picture the playwrights’ friends coming to performances (always dressed in black and nodding and smiling at how well their friend captured what it’s like________) and talking about the plays afterward.  And that’s okay! Except that I felt left out.  I felt that many of these plays were written for a specific audience and not a general audience.  With an exception or two.

I was really moved by Liz Amadio’s “The Hoodie Play.” I found this to be very theatrical (it’s surprising how many scripts forget this important aspect of being intended for the stage) and with a really great message (yes…despite my complaint about message plays, I like this message).  The action/dialog here moves along at a good pace.  This is one of the very scripts in the book that I’d really like to see staged.

Israel Horovitz is always solid (at least those that I’ve read), and his play “Security” is a nice addition to the book and would work well.

The last play in the book, “Doughnut Hole,” is by Donna Hoke … a name quite familiar to me as a force behind a script exchange and a representative of the Dramatists Guild … is a fun script. Featuring three older women, it’s clear that Hoke has a good understanding of her audience and people looking for age-appropriate scripts. I know a number of older people who would love to have a short play to work on and you can be sure I’ll be recommending this!

While only these three plays stood out as being exceptional, most of the rest were fine – just not uniquely memorable.  One script, however, stood out as a script that very much did not enjoy: “Untitled Radio Play” by Keelay Gipson. It’s a message play, dealing with racism in the gay community. As a cisgendered white male, I recognize that I may have a very different reaction to this script, but I’ve been working professionally in theatre for a long time and I’d like to think that I react to quality rather than subject matter when it comes to plays. The message here is strong, but the script is not.

Liking three plays out of a collection of twenty is actually not bad, especially given that the rest are decent, but still this book will really only appeal to theatre enthusiasts.

This collection includes:

Introduction: Starting Over – John Patrick Bray
“Turtles and Bulldogs” – Scott C. Sickles
“Makin’ IndiXns” – William S. Yellow Robe, Jr.
“Four of Hearts” – Richard Chaney
“The Gun Show” – E. M. Lewis
“Bobo, Booboo, Bibi & Bourbon or, The Clown Play” – Terry M. Sandler
“Untitled Radio Play” – Keelay Gipson
“Eat of the Sun” – Darcy Parker Bruce
“Childish Things” – Arthur M. Jolly
“Before” – Penny Jackson
“Magnolia Blossoms: A Civil War Melodrama, Episode 1: “If Tomorrow Never Comes … Until Today”” – Angela C. Hall
“Certain Unexplainable Events” – Cody Daigle-Orians
“Easter at the Entree Gold” – John Minigan
“Strays” – Kim Katzberg in collaboration with Nora Woolley and Raquel Cion
“The Ladder in the Room” – Lisa Soland
“The Hoodie Play” – Liz Amadio
“Big Easy Death Party” – Mariah MacCarthy
“Rations” – Mark Bowen
“Man. Kind.” – Don X. Nguyen
“Security” – Israel Horovitz
“Doughnut Hole” – Donna Hoke

Looking for a good book? If you enjoy reading plays, or are looking for a short script for your theatre project, check out The Best American Short Plays 2015-2016.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

The Best American Short Plays 2015-2016

editor: William W. Demastes

publisher: Applause Books

ISBN: 1495065405

paperback, 392 pages

PIECES AND PLAYERS – Blue Balliet

Posted by Daniel on December 27, 2019
Posted in: CHILDREN'S, MYSTERY. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Thirteen paintings, from Degas to Vermeer, have gone missing from one of the most secret of museums. Four school children who have had some experience with missing museum art are brought together by a strange woman (Mrs. Sharpe) to investigate.  A series of clues are discovered by the children and it takes a lot of brain power to decipher where the clues are leading.  But is Mrs. Sharpe helping them, or working some other angle?

I have reviewed a couple of other books in the past with the themes or subjects of art theft, and I think this is one of the biggest, important issues that the average person on the street is not aware of, and for this reason I am greatly appreciative that author Blue Balliet brings the issue to children in the form of mystery books.

But this book is a mess.

Starting with the characters, I had great trouble telling the children apart.  Their voices are not distinct and even their behaviors are far too similar.  The adults in the book are also essentially one stock character broken into a group.  And of course the adults are not helpful, even though they seem to be the ones who’ve hired the children to find the art.

The clues that are provided are so obtuse I can’t imagine anyone reading along could possibly jump to the conclusions that are intrepid sleuths make!

And then there’s the repetition.  I was constantly feeling “weren’t we just here?  Didn’t we already make that discovery?” I think that a lot of that comes from having so many paintings that have gone missing and the clues being a bit obscure had me constantly scratching my head trying to follow the progression.

I really like the idea here, but the implementation definitely didn’t work for me.

Looking for a good book? Pieces and Players by Blue Balliet is a children’s mystery with an art theme, which definitely had me interested, but the story itself just gets bogged down and is not at all engaging.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Pieces and Players

author: Blue Balliet

series: Chasing Vermeer #4

publisher: Scholastic Press

ISBN: 054529990X

hardcover, 320 pages

IN THE SHADOW OF SPINDRIFT HOUSE – Mira Grant

Posted by Daniel on December 23, 2019
Posted in: Dark Fantasy/Horror, SHORT FICTION. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

If you were trying to combine the talents of H.P Lovecraft and Shirley Jackson you might very well get a story a lot like In the Shadow of Spindrift House, a dark coming of age story.

Harlowe Upton-Jones is at the end of her teen years. She’s grown up tough, always asking questions and digging for answers since her parents were killed by some strange cult.  Now she leads a group of teens in a detective agency, but she knows that the novelty of being teens who are very good at what they do, is soon going to wear off and so she’s looking for one last assignment before they begin work as adults.

The stories about Spindrift House are about as varied as the number of stories themselves. It’s an old house, run-down and spooky, and no one has spent time in it for a very long time.  But there are people willing to pay good money to get to the bottom of determining who owns the property now. Harlowe is certain that her team of teens can cut to the bottom of the mystery.  They have everything they need … intelligence, determination, and a plan.  What they don’t have, is time.  And Spindrift House has kept its secrets for a long time and it isn’t ready to let go of them just yet. In one of her steps to becoming an adult, Harlowe will have to make a tremendous sacrifice.

Although this is sold as a limited edition book, it’s not really a novel, but a novella.  Perhaps even a novelette. And the only reason this is important is because it doesn’t really have the length to allow Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire) to do what she does best, which is to develop really strong characters who become surrounded by story.  Our main protagonist, Harlowe, is well defined, but the other characters, her associates and the house itself, fade into the background too much. I like Harlowe’s journey, but I didn’t feel as drawn into the story the way I expect in a Mira Grant book.

But if you want a dose of horror, in the tradition of Lovecraft or Shirley Jackson’s the The Haunting of Hill House, but with the adept hand of modern master Mira Grant, then In the Shadow of Spindrift House should be on your to-read list.

Looking for a good book? I wouldn’t turn down anything by Mira Grant, but In the Shadow of Spindrift House, is not her strongest work.  Still, it is a nice mix of gothic horror and YA mystery.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

In the Shadow of Spindrift House

author: Mira Grant

publisher: Subterranean Press

ISBN: 1596069228

hardcover, 200 pages

MIND GAMES – Shana Silver

Posted by Daniel on December 20, 2019
Posted in: SF/FANTASY, YA. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

It would seem pretty obvious that modern fiction, especially modern science fiction, would pick up on modern tech and take off with wildly creative ideas.  And of course it often does.  But I also find that too often books, especially YA books, tend to rehash tired themes – hoping to capitalize on previous successes.  Mind Games by Shana Silver, though, started right off with what I thought to be a rather unique theme.

Arden is a teen who sells memories from the back corner of the school grounds the way other teens might sell a beer or a joint. It’s a successful venture for those who can afford it because who doesn’t want to experience what it’s like to be crowned Homecoming Queen or to know what it’s like to have studied so hard that it’s easy to pass a specific test?  How does it work?  Arden hacks into the memories of others, copies them, and then uploads them into those who can pay her price.

Business is pretty good until the day she realizes she’s lost some of her own memory.  Losing even fifteen minutes is bad, but not exactly life-threatening.  Unfortunately, things get worse and Arden begins losing more and more of her own memory.  Someone is hacking her and they aren’t just moving or storing her memories somewhere – they’re deleting them!  Without the previous days’ memories, how can she possibly hope to stop whoever is destroying her?  How can she possibly complete her school project when she remembers nothing about it?  And the good-looking guy she’s told she’s been partnered with on the school project … does she know him?  Do they like each other?  Does he remember anything about what’s going on?

I really got pulled into this story right from the start and the action moves along swiftly, revealing new obstacles or making new revelations at just the right time to keep me really interested. I also found that I was surprised by some of the plot twists that the story took.  I definitely had not expected a major plot point, but it fit well with what was happening (I won’t reveal it here, but suffice it to say that it’s a pretty big deal).

There was the almost stereotypical YA romance. It didn’t really bother me too much that it was there, but it definitely took on the tone of so many other YA books and it’s the one part of this book that didn’t feel unique.

I enjoyed this a lot and I would definitely recommend this to YA readers who enjoy many of the popular books with a strong female heroine.  This young lady doesn’t run around with a sword or a bow, and we’re not in some dystopian future, and I think that’s all to this books advantage.

Looking for a good book? Mind Games by Shana Silver is a thrilling science fiction YA read that is easy to get excited about.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Mind Games

author: Shana Silver

publisher: Swoon Books

ISBN: 1250192927

hardcover, 320 pages

HEROIKA 1: DRAGON EATERS – Janet Morris, editor

Posted by Daniel on December 18, 2019
Posted in: SF/FANTASY, SHORT FICTION, YA. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

I typically really enjoy reading short stories and those that are collected based on a theme generally have a story or two that will really appeal.  This book, then, fits my criteria for something that I would enjoy. And I did.  …But much too late…

The theme of dragons and/or killing dragons is certainly not a new one, but I looked forward to this because I list of authors that I was mostly not familiar with (Janet Morris being the only one known to me) and I enjoy ‘discovering’ new authors.  I also had a sense that this wasn’t just going to be a series of ‘heroes against dragons’ stories and that appealed to me.  I wish I could tell you why I felt that, but I can’t.  But all of this came true.  New authors (to me).  Interesting different takes on what the dragons are like, and how a variety of different people went up against dragons.

And to be fair, there weren’t any bad stories here.  Nothing was a complete dud.  But I never really felt engaged in any of the stories until “Wawindaji Joka” by Milton Davis. This story had some of the best character development and interactions and I was actually sorry to leave the story behind.

We’re nearly 3/4 of the way through the book once we read the Milton Davis story, but my interest in the stories picked up after this.

“Red Rain” by William Hiles struck me as very unique among the dragon mythos as the dragon in the story appears during the American Civil War. This theme caught my attention the most.

And for action, I really enjoyed the final piece, “Sic Semper Draconis” by Mark Finn.

As with almost any anthology, there were stories that appealed and stories that didn’t quite get to me.  For the most part, this was the latter and I can’t help but think of this as a very average collection of dragon-themed fantasy stories.

This collection includes:

“The First Dragon Eater” – Janet Morris and Chris Morris
“Legacy of the Great Dragon” – S.E. Lindberg
“Bring Your Rage” – Janet Morris and Chris Morris
“Aquila of Oyos” – Walter Rhein
“The Wyght Wyrm” – Cas Peave
“The Old Man on a Mountain” – Jack William Finley
“Of Blood and Scales” – A.L. Butcher
“Night Stalkers” – Travis Ludvigson
“Forged” – Tom Barczak
“The Rhyme of the Dragon Queen” – JP Wilder
“The Dragon’s Horde” – Joe Bonadonna
“Wawindaji Joka (The Dragon Hunters)” – Milton Davis
“Against the Sky Tomb of the Earth Kings” – M. Harold Page
“Red Rain” – William Hiles
“La Betaille” – Beth W. Patterson
“Arctic Rage” – Bruce Durham
“Sic Semper Draconis” – Mark Finn

Looking for a good book? If you want new stories with a dragon theme. Heroika 1: Dragon Eaters, edited by Janet Morris, might be what you’re looking for. There’s nothing bad here, but very few outstanding stories.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Heroika 1: Dragon Eaters

editor: Janet Morris

series: Heroika #1

publisher: Perseid Press

ISBN: 0986414034

paperback, 436 pages

GIVE A DAMN JONES – Bill Pronzini

Posted by Daniel on December 16, 2019
Posted in: Uncategorized, WESTERN. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Bill Pronzini is a wonderful workhorse of a writer.  I’ve been reading him since I was in college and that was a few decades ago. I’ve enjoyed many of his Quincannon series books and some of his Nameless Detectives books. I’m always up for reading a Pronzini book because I know I’ll get a first-rate story with solid characters.

Give-A-Damn Jones is about a freelance typesetter who wanders the West lending his typesetting talents to newspapers all over the land. He’s not very fond of his “Give-a-Damn” nickname but the name is appropriate because Artemis Jones isn’t one to back down or walk away just because the going gets tough.  When he walks into Box Elder, Montana he meets up with the local newspaper editor who is passionate about telling it like it is and instigating change.  But the town is full of characters, such as the tough blacksmith with a reputation for cheating his customers; a travelling medicine show/dentist ready to pull teeth for free but recommending his alcohol/medicine to ease the pain; the former convict still trying to clear his name; the rancher who may have lied to convict the man (to protect his daughter); and the local sheriff who knows there needs to be some changes but isn’t quite ready to mix it up. If Artemis Jones knew he was walking into a town so on the verge of exploding from within, he may have ridden past. But he’s there now, and, well, he’ll just give a damn.

It took me some time to get comfortable with this story.  The book is written in first person and as I read, I noted that the first nine chapters were each told from the view point of someone different, and none of them Artemis Jones.  Finally, then, we got some characters to tell their story in recurring chapters, and I began to understand what Pronzini was doing.

Jones doesn’t talk or write about himself.  If you want the story on him, he need to get it from everyone who’s made contact with him, and that’s how Pronzini is telling this story. And because they are first person accounts, we get a few additional details … some sub-plots that don’t necessarily affect Jones directly.

This is an interesting read for it’s format and style.  The characters are solid and real but a bit uninteresting. The town people’s dysfunction is what makes them interesting and a the community gets sorted out we lose interest.

I also found it humorous that the itinerant typesetter lifestyle was known and respected in towns like Box Elder, Montana.  I don’t know my American history well enough to know if this was true or not, but I suspect this was Pronzini having a little fun.

Looking for a good book? Give-A-Damn Jones by Bill Pronzini is a western without the stereotypical gunslinger and it’s the format of the book that is more interesting than the story.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Give-A-Damn Jones

author: Bill Pronzini

publisher: Forge

ISBN: 0765394391

hardcover, 256 pages

KILLALOT – Cindy Brown

Posted by Daniel on December 13, 2019
Posted in: MYSTERY, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Ivy Meadows (the stage name for Olive Ziegwart) is an actress and part-time private investigator working for her uncle Bob Duda of Duda Detectives. Things are looking up for Ivy … a famous playwright is in Arizona and he’s planning something that could be even bigger than his hit musical, Hello Dolly Madison – a musical version of Camelot with the Kennedy’s and Marilyn Monroe as the leading characters. And Ivy manages to snag the coveted role of Marilyn Monroe. This could easily be the job that gets her to Hollywood!

But first Ivy needs to help her uncle with a new assignment. At a Renaissance Faire! A jouster was killed in front of a large crowd, but the murderer, wearing a full suit of armor, couldn’t be identified, and escape on horseback.  Ivy must go undercover at the faire, as a British/Cockney belly dancer to see if she can learn who might have had it in for dead jouster.  Unfortunately, her top suspects are her best friend Riley, and the man who could propel her career in Hollywood, the playwright behind the Kennedy Camelot.

I really do enjoy the Ivy Meadows Mystery series. The theatre mash-ups are ridiculously fun and Ivy/Olive comes across as tremendously ‘real.’  Her sense of eagerness, both for her acting career and for her detective work, strike me as appropriate for a young woman finding her own way and striking out on her own.

This particular volume in the series was not quite as endearing to me, but mostly because of the location.  This takes place mostly on site at a Renaissance Faire. Despite my own interest in theatre, fencing, and a one-time member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, I don’t enjoy Renaissance Faires! I have some specific reasons for this, which I won’t go into, but my non-enjoyment of RenFaires definitely killed my interest in this story.  And while I chuckled periodically over the Kennedy-themed Camelot and Ivy’s portrayal of Marilyn Monroe (which didn’t strike me as believable as her roles in previous books), this was really quite secondary to the plot and not really a mash-up as we’ve had before.  In fact this idea was quite on-track – the theme wasn’t as outrageous as the implementation of the project.

I recommend this series, but for new readers to the Ivy Meadows Mysteries, I wouldn’t recommend starting with this book.

Looking for a good book? Killalot is the 6th book in the Ivy Meadows Mystery Series by Cindy Brown and budding actress/part-time detective Ivy Meadows steps out of the theatre and into the sun to go undercover at a Renaissance Faire.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Killalot

author: Cindy Brown

series: An Ivy Meadows Mystery #6

publisher: Henery Press

ISBN: 1635114306

paperback, 282 pages

A WHORE’S MANIFESTO – Kay Kassirer, editor

Posted by Daniel on December 12, 2019
Posted in: OTHER. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

When I saw this book offered up to reviewers I was really interested in getting a copy.  I felt that a book like this would contain works that really come from the gut.  Visceral emotions.  And I wasn’t disappointed.

The subtitle of the book is “An Anthology of Writing and Artwork by Sex Workers” and one of the first things I learned in this book is what constitutes a ‘sex worker.’  It seems pretty obvious, right?  But I’ll admit that I hadn’t thought much about this and I hadn’t pictured phone sex workers, internet camming, and ‘sugar babies’ (I had to think for a bit about what that meant – and then it never occurred to me that some thought of this as a job) as sex workers. I had definitely thought more along the lines of physical touch.

The book is primarily poetry, which I guess isn’t a surprise, but I was definitely wishing that there was more artwork/photography included – there was one drawing and one photo. The drawing was a little too obvious for me (an idea I’ve seen many times [given its nature, I won’t say too much about it, other than it is genitalia]) though the photo was interesting and artistic.

I am not typically a fan of poetry – it’s just a literary form I’ve never been real fond of – but there were some poems here that I thought were really well done and powerful. Starting with the first piece, “naked on the internet” by Vivienne L’Crave, which was really raw and powerful and definitely set a tone for the rest of the book.  Though I’m happy to say that not all the works here were as gritty or dark as this.

Gigi Genet’s “AFTER ANIMORPHS” is shorter, but no less dark and powerful.

I also really liked Lux Aeterna’s “Gods & Monsters” and all the pieces by someone referred to as ‘Strawberry’ and the two poems by the editor, Kay Kassirer.  Kassirer’s “Work Follows Me Home” is probably my favorite poem in the book.  It might be the shortest work in the book, but it packs a lot into it.

In short fiction, “The Retiree” by Kristy Lin Billuni stuck out for me as one of the few works here with a bit more upbeat tone and deals with a subject that I quite expected to read more of – women looking for work after leaving the sex industry.

“Reluctance” by June Sayers was a little strange to me, but I liked seeing the intelligence of the sex worker. Still, she’s a ‘for hire’ worker and despite very likely being the smarter, wiser of the pair, she’s the one trying to do the impressing.

While not everything impressed, that’s not unusual with an anthology.  Fortunately there weren’t any real written works that were duds.  Kassirer has done a really fine job of putting this collection together.

Looking for a good book? The Whore’s Manifesto is a collection of poems and stories written by sex workers and is a powerful assortment that makes it pretty clear that this is a line of work that doesn’t offer up very many positives.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

A Whore’s Manifesto: An Anthology of Writing and Artwork by Sex Workers

editor: Kay Kassirer

publisher: Thorntree Press

ISBN: 1944934898

paperback, 104 pages